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1379
'World Events' *January: the resurgence of the Black Death. From 1331 to 1353, the bubonic plague had migrated across Eurasia. Now, just as the population recovered around Nanjing, there was a deadlier, more virulent pneumonic version that started and spread from East China. *February: Rupert I, Elector Palatine, is elected King of the Romans (King of Germany) in an emergency session. Taking nominal leadership of the Holy Roman Empire, Rupert sends peace envoys through the empire in an attempt to bring peace. *May: King of Castile and León Henry II, as well as his son John I, perish in a gunpowder accident in Toledo. The blast was so massive it destroyed half the Alcázar and threw the kingdom into crisis and confusion as survivors sorted through the rubble. *June: John of Gaunt presents himself as rightful heir to the Castilian throne. Accepted enough, John divests his Lancastrian duchy, trading it for a new created barony in the south of England. *September 9 – The Treaty of Neuberg is signed, splitting the Austrian Habsburg lands between brothers Albert III and Leopold III. Albert III retains the title of Duke of Austria. *'Date Unknown' **The Venetians and Ottomans invade Constantinople, and restore John V Palaiologos as Byzantine co-emperor. Andronikos IV Palaiologos is allowed to remain as Byzantine co-emperor, but is confined to the city of Silivri for the remainder of his life. **Bairam Khawaja establishes the independent principality of the Turkomans of the Black Sheep Empire, in present day Armenia. **Dmitri Donskoi of Moscow raids Estonia. 'Anglo-French Region' January * Edwardian Sweep of Northern France: The English Edwards meet the Aquitaine Bayonne regiment, still guarding Calais until the English arrival. By now, most repairs had been effected, allowing Bayonne to depart. Instead of heading back to Aquitaine, it became a complementary force that assisted the English counterattack, taking Artois, Flanders and Picardy by the end of the month. * Coming of Age: Edward of Angoulême, Crown Prince of England, has his 14th birthday in battle. This is the technical age of majority, recognized in France and to a lesser extent in England, though actual application varied based on political expediency. * Wandstone: the plan to open a magical academy in the London area had been in the works for some time, but making it worth the while to teach while creating a curriculum that didn't blow up the students was a challenge. Fortuitous, then, that Wandstone opened when it did. The Clerkenwell parish was immediately north of the City of London, and Wandstone took a step to empower and encourage the still-jittery locals. * York's Burning Frogs: the city of York reports waves of frogs appearing... then burning away. The Royal Order of Merlin, as well as a Jesuit contingent, is dispatched to investigate. February * Edwardian reach into Luxembourg: Charles IV pressed his resources into assisting his nephew Charles V at Calais. That included armies from Luxembourg and Burgundy, both of which were effectively destroyed by Aquitaine. The Edwardian offensive now counterattacked Luxembourg, namesake of House Luxembourg, and allied areas to the north, annexing them in retaliation. * A Ricardian Presence in York: Prince Rick is "banished to York" by King Edward after a palatine quote reaches the English Crown disparaging their retaliatory war ride as unchristian. That is, itself, controversial, and the Ricardian quote is printed and circulated, though not entirely accurate, complete or contextual. That, however, is largely buried by the findings of the Jesuit investigation. Whether a fallen angel constitutes a demon or not is inconclusive, but it does appear that angels have either gone mad or are at war with each other. Prince Rick concurs, leaning toward the latter. March * Edwardian tactics eschew traditional battles: The Edwards continue their war ride, but this isn't the fabian tactics of resource attrition: rather this is a terrifying direct strike on political leadership. Possibly influenced by the Ricardian tactics at Poitiers, the two-regiment campaign takes Champagne, then turns to Paris. * New College is founded in Oxford, England. Similar to the original, this is intended to be a learned training center for priests. Unlike the original, the construction is completed in about two years and goes on to train priests using magically-created, SNS-based training aides. * The Atlantean Audacity of Aquitaine: The Royal Navy of Aquitaine, something of a legend now with its ultra-sleek, ultra-fast ships, officially discovers the islands known in the alternate timeline as the Azores. There had been rumors of islands in that location, but nothing official and nothing politically claimed – until Aquitaine did so. Upon planting a flag, did no less than refound the City of Atlantis. April * The Ghosts of the Living: As the Edwardian regiments prepare to attack, Paris is haunted by an army of ghosts. Not just the dead, but the ghosts – possibly the souls – of the living wander the city. The dead are angry or sad, but it's the souls of the living that terrify people. Stricken the hardest in the haunting is Dauphin Charles, resulting in a French armistice. Prince Richard, the ROM and the Jesuit Contingent are summoned from England. * Dominus Exorcus: Dauphin Charles is healed from the haunting, sparing him (and his father, King Charles V of France). The event is terrifying not just for the Valois but the Plantagenets and the rest of the city. * [[Records: the Treaty of Paris (1379)|''The Treaty of Paris]]:'' The Charles' keep the House of Valois nominally alive, but considerably reduced and subordinated as the Principality of the Île-de-France. ** One key element of the Treaty of Paris is the declaration of Sovereignty of Aquitaine. All possessions of the west, from Normandy south to half of Languedoc, are now part of a new Kingdom, beholden to none. Prince Rick's accession is immediate and field expedient. ** Philip the Bold (the Duchy of Burgundy) is to answer directly to King Edward IV. While he initially agrees, within a day, he rebels and withdraws to Burgundy, now preparing for war. * The Edwardian Withdrawal: King Edward claims France in his victory, but the sight of the French son and father Charles has shaken the English Crown to the core, especially so soon after nearly losing Prince Edward a second time. The Edwardian presence withdraws from France, leaving King Rick, Prince of England, to lead the fight on behalf of the Crown. May * Magus to foes: I am coming. King Rick retains the St. George Regiment from London, as well as reacquainting with the Bayonne Regiment (which just marched with King Edward). The Le Mans Regiment and Bordeaux Regiments move east, and the Magus now marches with four regiments. The Duchy and neighboring Kingdom of Burgundy quickly fall to the Arms of Aquitaine. * Burgundy Redefined: King Rick consolidates the French Duchy with the newly conquered Holy Roman Burgundy and declares it the Kingdom of Burgundy. Resurrecting this ancient kingdom, the Magus proclaims it is now under the stewardship of the House of Plantagenet. June * Burgundy's Southern Expansion: Aquitaine sweeps south, expanding the Kingdom of Burgundy. Joanna's Provence and former Papal fief Avignon are incorporated, with the capital at Arles. * Wisbech Grammar School is founded in England. A bit different from the original effort, this timeline uses the Books of Learning to teach standardized grammar and spelling. * Lancastrian Divestment: John of Gaunt, having obtained the Crown of Castile, divests himself of his northern England duchy – surrendering it to the English Crown. King Edward was set to bequeath it to still-Prince Rick (at least in that Kingdom), but Rick suggests federalization. Gaunt is granted a newly created barony in southern England. July * The Italian Creation: Kingdom of Naples assumes Papal territories, creating the Kingdom of Italy. The overall capital is in Rome and Queen Joanna crowned by the Pope. * Navarrese Resolution: a dangling loose-end, Aquitaine's war with Navarre is resolved with a prompt surrender at the arrival of Prince Richard. Charles II dies at the sight of the approaching army (presumably of a heart attack). Charles III is allowed to retain the area, but it is downgraded to a duchy and made a vassal of John I's Castile. The act comes to be known as the Mercy of the Magus. Also very telling: Rick didn't retain the duchy, but instead kept to the principle of geographic contiguity and contributed to Uncle John's kingdom. * Holy Roman Petition: Rupert I (HRE) sues Aquitaine for peace. In contact with the "noble court" of Bohemia, mostly led by the struggling House Rosenberg, Rupert is aware of young Bohemian Queen Anne's presence in now-King Rickard's Court of Aquitaine. Seeing that Luxembourg itself (namesake of House Luxembourg of Charles IV) is in possession of the English crown, Rupert takes the opportunity as statesman and diplomat to propose peace on behalf of the tattered and war-torn Holy Roman Empire. August * The Reach of the Angevin Domain: The Noble House of Plantagenet, an independent but supporting entity based in Angers, is granted baronies of Brest, Calais, Dover, (somewhere near Arles) and (somewhere in Italy). The Noble House performs homage to the respective kings, collecting tax and paying a percentage to the hosts. The idea of corporatizing Houses is starting to look attractive to aristocratic families. * CCC finishes namesake castle: Castle Cavalon is built on the Calf of Man, the islet south of the Isle of Man. Walls encircle the island, a bright lighthouse towers from the high point, and the upper grounds of the castle can be seen from the main island. What was once a barren, wind-blown island is now dotted in towers and covered in fruit trees (mostly apple). September * The Plantagenet Gates: 'the inner keep of rebuilt Calais (now a ''Noble Plantagenet barony), is designed more as an inner one-sided barbican, including its own moat. Like a door to nowhere, this gate is finally revealed to its true purpose: it is a locked portal, permanently connected to a matching portal in Dover. This allows road traffic to pass through and the first to cross is no less than the Regiment of St. George. The toll is significant for merchant traffic, so maritime trade isn't obsolete (but it is on notice). * '''Expanding the English Royal Arms: Just as the Regiment of St. George returns to London, among plenty of pageantry and celebration, the Royal Armies of Chester, Lancaster and York are certified in England with requisite ceremony. October * The Future of Wales: Welsh nobility, both allied and now-pacified, are summoned to the Round Table of the newly created, extremely magical Castle Cavalon. Discussions open the future of Welsh autonomy and a deal is struck: Wales will have an empty royal Crown, held in abeyance for King Arthur, filled instead by a Sovereign Prince who will answer to England. England, in turn, may have other British crowns answer to it but must never take the title of Emperor of Britannia. Rather the English King may assume the title of Steward of Britannia, as King of Britannia is also ''held in abeyance for King Arthur. * '''The Arcane Cartography of the RANP:' the Royal Academy had leapfrogged centuries of mundane (non-magical) cartographic and survey science and technology. With magic, through England and Aquitaine, they'd mastered the technique of creating inch-accurate, terrain-inclusive topographic maps. The proviso: the territory was limited to line-of-sight recording. The RANP revealed accurate coastal position and scale maps of all of Europe, up and down waterways, as far as Russia over Norway and the entire coast, north and south of the Mediterranean. This was the new, ultra-valuable gold standard. November * Fanfare of the Explorers: English cartographic ships, carrying the RANP, set out to sail around the world and map as they go. The subtext is significant: outside the British isles, King Edward IV has signaled only a desire for exploration and trade. * Blood & Thunder's Northern Trinity:'' Within'' the British Isles, the three new English armies stage and practice gunnery at the current Scottish border, in the English-held Scottish territories, making the Royal intentions quite clear. December * Treaty of Berwick, ''Revisited':'' Scotland watched the rise of England and collapse of France, taking the Auld Alliance with it. Force of arms is the primary fear, and magic is part of that equation. Given the English holdings in southern Scotland, attacking English territory wasn't even an option at the time. Now, as three armies prepare to ride through Scotland, Scottish Parliament urged Robert II to recognize and abide by the Treaty of Berwick. * '''Request for Reconfirmation: The English Baronage, now a little more than three years after the Edwardian Audit and Rectification, requests the English Crown confirm the principles of the Magna Carta. The effort to revise it already widely known, and given the Crown success, the king has never had more power. This effort formalizes the dwindling patience of the aristocracy in an already-changing economy. Category:Hall of Records